Protection of land resources and vegetation

Key Gazprom Neft projects to improve the reliability of pipelines in 2016

The use of advanced technologies when building a 96-km pipeline with capacity of 7 million tonnes of oil per year that will connect the Messoyakha group of fields with the northernmost point of the Zapolyarye-Purpe oil transportation system. Semi-automatic and automatic welding guarantees the high quality of pipe joints and ensures the reliability of the oil pipeline. A fibre-optic cable that records any risks of depressurisation in the system will be routed along the entire route.

The use of a mobile laboratory for the non-destructive testing of pipelines at Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegaz. The equipment allows for the remote monitoring of the technical condition of main pipelines using X-ray equipment as well as ultrasonic flaw detection and thickness measurement devices.

New pipeline diagnostic methods. The magnetometric method is based on recording magnetic fields and makes it possible to identify zones of localised corrosion. Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegaz conducted successful tests of the device in late 2015. The development of internal pipeline indicators will make it possible to conduct diagnostics on small-diameter infield pipelines (up to 219 mm), which are the most prone to corrosion.

Since 2014, the Company has been implementing the ‘Clean Territory’ project, which aims to reduce pipeline failure rates and the area of contaminated land.

Gazprom Neft reclaims disturbed and contaminated land and sludge pits taking into account the climatic, hydrological, soil and vegetative conditions of the regions. The reclamation programmes involve an inventory of the land, an assessment of the soil contamination level, the selection of the most effective rehabilitation technology and an assessment of the quality of environmental restoration work, including chemical and analytical monitoring.

Since 2014, the Company has been implementing the ‘Clean Territory’ project, which aims to reduce pipeline failure rates and the area of contaminated land. The project includes diagnostics and monitoring of corrosion, the reconstruction and replacement of roughly 400 km of pipelines per year.

Unmanned monitoring

Gazprom Neft developed the use of drones to monitor the technical condition of oil pipelines during the reporting year. The drones provide continuous remote control of pipeline integrity, including at remote sections of fields, and reduce emergency response time. The drones, which are equipped with photo cameras, video cameras and thermal imagers, are controlled from a ground station using a GPS navigator. The use of drones allows for tripling the number of flights that can be made and also improves the observation quality compared with what can be seen from helicopters. Gazpromneft-Muravlenko and Gazpromneft-Noyabrskneftegaz used drones for monitoring during the reporting year.

Reclamation of oil contaminated land Oil contaminated lands were reclaimed in 2016 in full compliance. The decrease in reclamation compared with 2015 is due to the use of resource-saving technologies as part of the ‘Clean Territory’ corporate project, which led to a decrease in the area of contaminated land. (ha) Source: Company data

24.6% area occupied by green spaces at the Moscow Oil Refinery

The Company introduced the approach of recycling drilling waste at temporary storage sites without building sludge pits in 2015 and continued to successfully utilise this approach throughout 2016. Drilling waste is recycled with the construction material obtained subsequently being used to eliminate temporary drilling waste storage sites and also at other facilities in accordance with its designated purpose.

Specific land protection indicators in 2016

Ratio of area of contaminated land at the end of the year vs. at the start of the year

ha/ha

0.0046

Specific amount of spilled oil, condensate and petroleum products as a result of accidents and leaks

kg / t of extracted hydrocarbons (TOE)

0.0021

Reclamation of sludge pits (pits) Source: Company data

Landscaping of the Moscow Oil Refinery

The trees and shrubs located on the territory of the Moscow Oil Refinery have been entered into the ‘Register of Green Spaces’ municipal information system. Specialists from the Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection conducted an inventory of 1,700 trees and more than 5,000 shrubs at the Moscow Oil Refinery. The requirement for green spaces at the production sites of Moscow enterprises is 10%, while the area occupied by green spaces at the Moscow Oil Refinery makes up 24.6% of the company’s territory.